relinquish
Americanverb
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to give up (a task, struggle, etc); abandon
-
to surrender or renounce (a claim, right, etc)
-
to release; let go
Related Words
See abandon.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of relinquish
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English relinquissen, relinquisshen, from Middle French relinquiss-, long stem of relinquir ≪ Latin relinquere “to leave behind,” equivalent to re- re- + linquere “to leave” (akin to lend )
Explanation
If you relinquish something, you let it go. You relinquish control of the army when you resign as general. You relinquish your plan to sneak into town when your parents find out what's going on. Relinquish is also commonly used to mean physically letting go of something: The monkey wouldn't relinquish its grasp on the banana. Relinquish descends from Latin relinquere, from the prefix re-, "again" plus linquere, "to leave."
Vocabulary lists containing relinquish
The Declaration of Independence
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The Giver
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Relinquish the world of the living for “dusty, drowsy” seminar rooms, where students drift around in suspended animation and professors hubristically trash all of Hamlet’s best lines?
From Slate • Dec. 29, 2012
Relinquish control of your technology infrastructure—you don't need it anymore.
From BusinessWeek • Mar. 3, 2011
Relinquish commonly implies reluctance; the fainting hand relinquishes its grasp; the creditor relinquishes his claim.
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
Relinquish my right over the principal doer of the evil, and receive the unsupported pledge of a subordinate's word!
From The Water-Witch or, the Skimmer of the Seas by Cooper, James Fenimore
Relinquish Lurline for a foolish piece of barbarous pride.
From Tales of the Wonder Club Volume I by Halidom, M. Y.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
